The Pentagon is losing another top commander.
Gen. Christopher Donahue, the four-star officer who leads U.S. Army forces in Europe and Africa and serves as commander of NATO’s Allied Land Command, will step down July 2 after roughly 18 months in one of the military’s most prominent assignments, Fox News confirmed.
The Army said Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, Donahue’s deputy, will assume command duties following his departure.
Donahue submitted retirement paperwork at the request of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has pushed an aggressive effort to trim the Pentagon’s senior ranks while redirecting resources toward enlisted personnel. Donahue becomes the latest in a growing list of senior military leaders who have left or retired early under Hegseth.
“The Army thanks Gen. Donahue for his leadership of U.S. Army Europe and Africa,” the Army said in a statement provided to Fox News.
Donahue is perhaps best known as the final American service member to leave Afghanistan in August 2021, bringing America’s nearly two-decade war to a close. A now-famous night-vision image captured him boarding a C-17 cargo aircraft moments before departure.
At the time, Donahue commanded the 82nd Airborne Division and was tasked with overseeing security operations at Hamid Karzai International Airport during the chaotic withdrawal.
The deadly ISIS-K suicide bombing at Abbey Gate, which killed 13 U.S. troops and about 170 Afghan civilians, occurred in an area secured by Marines rather than forces under Donahue’s direct command.
Despite widespread criticism of the Biden administration’s handling of the withdrawal, Donahue earned praise from lawmakers in both parties for his role in the evacuation effort, which airlifted roughly 124,000 Afghans out of the country.
President Donald Trump repeatedly blasted former President Joe Biden over the withdrawal, and Hegseth ordered a fresh review of the operation in May after previous investigations by the Pentagon, U.S. Central Command, the State Department and Congress.
A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Donahue built his reputation in special operations, leading Delta Force units in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He later commanded the 82nd Airborne Division from July 2020 through March 2022 before Biden selected him for the Europe and Africa command in December 2024.
As the Army’s top commander in Europe, Donahue helped coordinate military assistance to Ukraine following Russia’s invasion. Officials told Fox News his work on the conflict made him one of the Army’s leading authorities on drone warfare.
Within military circles, Donahue was widely regarded as one of the Army’s most experienced combat commanders and was viewed as a potential future chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to The Associated Press.
His departure comes as Army officials weigh reducing U.S. Army Europe and Africa from a four-star command to a three-star post, according to sources who spoke with Fox News.
The move also follows Hegseth’s announcement last week that he will conduct a six-month review of America’s military footprint across Europe.
“This will be a real review. It will be designed to ensure that NATO is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading, stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defense of Europe,” he told NATO officials in Brussels. “It’s a review that some countries will fail and others will pass with flying colors.”
Neither the Pentagon nor the Army immediately commented on Donahue’s departure, which was first reported by The Atlantic.
Because Donahue has not held a four-star rank for the required three years, he will need a presidential waiver to retire with full four-star benefits.
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